Church primary schools in England are less likely than local authority
schools to admit children from poorer homes, updated research shows.

In 2005, the Institute for Research in Integrated Strategies identified
a similar phenomenon in a limited study.

It has now analysed admissions and eligibility for free school meals
in all 17,319 primary schools in England.

Schools in the voluntary aided category admitted fewer poorer children
than expected from the area's social makeup.

Almost 19% of children living in the postcode area of church schools
were from families eligible for free meals, but only 14% of the schools'
intakes were.

Conversely, local authority community schools took a slightly higher
proportion of poorer pupils than lived in their local districts.

'Wide' area

The institute's report suggests league tables are encouraging parents
to "shop around" for primary schools as much as for secondary schools.

The author, Chris Waterman, suggests that other factors, such as the
costs of school uniform or extra-curricular activities, could be producing
a form of social sorting - determining which parents apply to certain schools
in the first place.

His original study of schools in three areas, published in November,
suggested Catholic schools in particular did not reflect their local areas
- taking fewer poor children.

At the time, the Catholic Education Service said the most likely reason
was that its schools served much wider geographical areas than their immediate
postcodes.

'No evidence'

The Church of England's chief education officer, Canon John Hall, said
the figures in the new report were complicated and did not give enough
information about the localities and densities of neighbouring schools.

"As the author acknowledges it is hard to generalise about primary school
admissions - though he seeks to do so," he said.

He added: "If there were covert social selection for church schools
- of which there is no actual evidence in this report - we would deplore
it and seek to root it out.

He was in favour of a proposal by the Commons education select committee
to strengthen the powers of the local forums which seek to co-ordinate
admissions in each area.

"We would welcome the monitoring of admissions practice by the local
admissions forum and the strengthening of diocesan powers requiring governing
bodies of voluntary aided schools to follow the advice they have been given,"
he said.

Church schools are taking in far fewer pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds
than other schools and more than their share of bright pupils, according
to the most detailed research published on admissions.

The study, which covered all primary and secondary schools in England,
revealed that voluntary-aided schools - mainly run by churches - were taking
in fewer children entitled to free meals than other schools in their neighbourhoods.
In addition, church secondary schools admit a far higher proportion of
children who have done well in their 11-year-old national curriculum tests
than the percentage in the communities they serve.

The research, covering every state school in England and carried out
by the widely respected National Foundation for Educational Research, calls
for an investigation to determine whether they are "overtly or covertly"
selecting their pupils.

However, Tony Blair's flagship academies are given a clean bill of health
- with researchers saying they are taking in far more than their share
of poorer students and those who are struggling to master the three Rs.

This finding will give ministers ammunition with which to rebut claims
from rebel Labour MPs that they are leading to a two-tier system of education
when the Government's controversial school reforms return to the Commons
next month.

The NFER research mirrors the findings of an earlier report by the education
think tank, Iris, which only looked into primary schools - but found that
voluntary-aided schools were using "devious" means such as ascertaining
parents' affluence to determine admissions.

The NFER says there can only be two reasons for its findings: either
parents with a religious faith have more intelligent children and are richer
than the rest of the community or the voluntary aided schools are indulging
in forms of selection.

"Even by compensating for the wider geographical area that such schools
may serve, it does not explain the reason for the proportions of pupils
eligible for free school meals admitted to voluntary-aided schools. Further
research could investigate whether there are lower numbers of children
with a particular religious affiliation within the group eligible for free
school meals or whether some of these schools are overtly or covertly selecting
out children with particular background characteristics."

The figures showed that - whereas 19 per cent of all pupils living in
postcodes served by voluntary aided primary schools were entitled to free
school meals - only 14 per cent of their pupils were. The figures were
the same for secondary schools.

By contrast, in academies - the privately-sponsored independently-run
inner city schools being set up by Mr Blair - 40 per cent of pupils were
on free school meals compared to 31 per cent in the districts they covered.

Tamsin Chamberlain, who conducted the research for the NFER, said: "Further
research is needed to provide the reasons for those differences - for example
why some community and voluntary-aided schools appear to admit a lower
proportion of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds than might be expected."

Church schools are taking in far fewer pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds
than other schools and more than their share of bright pupils, according
to the most detailed research published on admissions.

The study, which covered all primary and secondary schools in England,
revealed that voluntary-aided schools - mainly run by churches - were taking
in fewer children entitled to free meals than other schools in their neighbourhoods.
In addition, church secondary schools admit a far higher proportion of
children who have done well in their 11-year-old national curriculum tests
than the percentage in the communities they serve.

The research, covering every state school in England and carried out
by the widely respected National Foundation for Educational Research, calls
for an investigation to determine whether they are "overtly or covertly"
selecting their pupils.

However, Tony Blair's flagship academies are given a clean bill of health
- with researchers saying they are taking in far more than their share
of poorer students and those who are struggling to master the three Rs.

This finding will give ministers ammunition with which to rebut claims
from rebel Labour MPs that they are leading to a two-tier system of education
when the Government's controversial school reforms return to the Commons
next month.

The NFER research mirrors the findings of an earlier report by the education
think tank, Iris, which only looked into primary schools - but found that
voluntary-aided schools were using "devious" means such as ascertaining
parents' affluence to determine admissions.

The NFER says there can only be two reasons for its findings: either
parents with a religious faith have more intelligent children and are richer
than the rest of the community or the voluntary aided schools are indulging
in forms of selection.

"Even by compensating for the wider geographical area that such schools
may serve, it does not explain the reason for the proportions of pupils
eligible for free school meals admitted to voluntary-aided schools. Further
research could investigate whether there are lower numbers of children
with a particular religious affiliation within the group eligible for free
school meals or whether some of these schools are overtly or covertly selecting
out children with particular background characteristics."

The figures showed that - whereas 19 per cent of all pupils living in
postcodes served by voluntary aided primary schools were entitled to free
school meals - only 14 per cent of their pupils were. The figures were
the same for secondary schools.

By contrast, in academies - the privately-sponsored independently-run
inner city schools being set up by Mr Blair - 40 per cent of pupils were
on free school meals compared to 31 per cent in the districts they covered.

Tamsin Chamberlain, who conducted the research for the NFER, said: "Further
research is needed to provide the reasons for those differences - for example
why some community and voluntary-aided schools appear to admit a lower
proportion of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds than might be expected."